Synthetic Oil for our MZ3s

[prboy3]

Hey forum:
Just a question here: Is it worth changing or non-syntheti oils for synthetic oils?Lets say this Amsoil. It says from 3,000 to 60,000 diference for oil change.

I know that on semi-old cars it works like magic but don't know about new cars.
Help a brother out..LOL

PRBOY3
http://www.authorized-amsoil-dealer-for-synthetic-motor-oil.com/

 

[RyanJayG]

better than dinosaur juice.

cheap insurance if you drive hard or forget to change your oil on time, but if you are truely dillagent, and stay N/A with your car then regular oil will make your engine last just as long.

 

[toucci]

nah regular oil will wear the engine more under identical conditions. also, synthetic only needs to be changed when it's contaminated. if your synthetic oil stays clean you can run it for a long time. this is the idea behind BMW's oil sensor, it mandates synthetic and checks its contamination until it reaches a certain point where it alerts the driver. with this type of method you don't have to make precautionary oil changes like I do every 3k miles.

 

[Micah]

BMW service recommends oil changes every 7000 miles. About 1/5th of the parking lot at work is BMW. Mostly 5 series, but there are two 8's and a few m's.

 

[CitizenPro]

Leading Edge Lubricants or Royal Purple, with a touch of Lucas Oil Stabilizer.........only way to go

 

[ag bullet]

FWIW, I have been running Mobil 1 5w30 in my 5 door since its forst oil change. I asked my dealer and they said it was fine and that the 5w20 that comes in the car helps it get the government fuel mileage numbers. However on recent road trips, I have seen 30 and 31 mpg with the Mobil 1. So no harm no foul. Longer service interval if you need it. I still change mine about every 3-4k miles.

 

[crossbow]

Don't run syn and drain it before 5k...your just wasting your money. Most synthetics can run to 10,000 miles and beyond...its utterly pointless to dump it sub 5k.
http://www.mazda6tech.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=26

Here's a list of current Mazda 6 UOA's. All the 6i UOA's apply to the Mazda3, as the engines are basically identical, with some small differences.

Don't know what a UOA is? (used oil analysis). Visit http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

Want to run a UOA on your own car? (Only way to know if the oil your using is right for your car, your driving style, and your environment) Visit http://www.blackstone-labs.com

Make sure not to extend an OCI (oil change interval) past 7500 miles during your warranty period. If you do, it can be counted as owner abuse and neglect, and your warranty voided if engine durability comes into question. Remember if you DIY to save all your oil change recepits, (incl filter) and write down the date, and mileage on the car when the oil is changed. This is required for warranty fullfillment.

Also don't be confused by viscosity, as its all but worthless when trying to figure out if it protects an engine or not. Stick to the 20 wt's unless you have a specific reason for doing otherwise. Confused? Mobil1 10w-30 is technically thinner then Redline 5w-20 when passing through your bearings. (HTHS of 3.17 vs 3.3). Viscosity is only a tiny fraction of the overall performance picture...kinda of like picking out a processor just by its megahertz number.

Mobil1 0w-20 btw is the full syn equivilant of 5w-20 and shows very good wear numbers for the 6i's. The stock oil (motorcraft 5w-20 semi-syn) is available extremely cheaply and does a great job with low wear numbers and can be safely run 5k intervals.

 

[RyanJayG]

I do know many people who don't even change thier oil. they run synthetic, changing the filter and draining a little, and adding a quart every4-5 thousand miles.

true synthetic oil doesn't really break down, but the additives in it does. that is the reason for changing syn oil.

 

[crossbow]

You forget about combustion byproducts. Regardless of whether the oil is breaking down, its getting saturated with wear metals and byproducts of the combustion process. There is a set amount of additives in the oil which deals with such chemicals, helping to maintain the clean level of the engine. Overtime these additives deplete. The oil itself is still fine, but the additive packages are finite.

Additive package levels are commonly found by "TBN" #'s. (Total base #). This number depletes over time, and when it reaches a certain level, wear increases expodentially, regardless of whether the oil is synthetic or not.

This is why UOA's and not "my fathers grandfather's brother's sister's cousin always just added oil" systems are important. They tell you EXACTLY what the oil is doing, how much of the additive package is remaining, if the engine is working to spec, if you have any leaks, fuel dilution, etc.

Oil smell, color, taste, or what misc friends and family members don't compare to a scientific analysis of your own car's used oil.

There was recently a study on a camaro doing the whole "lets see how long the oil goes". Well they kept the same syn oil in the car, and just changed the filter and topped of the oil. What happened after 15-20k miles? They added up all the topoff and filter changes and noticed they had ended up changing the oil 1.75x. (In overall volume).

Visit Bob's for science and information, not guesses and bone shaking.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

 

[Sushi-Monster]

like as said b4... sure today's oils will last alot longer than say what was used 20 years ago... but can teh oil filters keep up?? Stock mazda oil filters really only last up to 5000km / 3000 miles on my protege and on na will prolly last another 2 - 3000k more. Unless they make a better oil filter that will keep up with our oil you should be changing it regardless... if it black that is...

 

[RyanJayG]

You forget about combustion byproducts. Regardless of whether the oil is breaking down, its getting saturated with wear metals and byproducts of the combustion process. There is a set amount of additives in the oil which deals with such chemicals, helping to maintain the clean level of the engine. Overtime these additives deplete. The oil itself is still fine, but the additive packages are finite.

Additive package levels are commonly found by "TBN" #'s. (Total base #). This number depletes over time, and when it reaches a certain level, wear increases expodentially, regardless of whether the oil is synthetic or not.

This is why UOA's and not "my fathers grandfather's brother's sister's cousin always just added oil" systems are important. They tell you EXACTLY what the oil is doing, how much of the additive package is remaining, if the engine is working to spec, if you have any leaks, fuel dilution, etc.

Oil smell, color, taste, or what misc friends and family members don't compare to a scientific analysis of your own car's used oil.

There was recently a study on a camaro doing the whole "lets see how long the oil goes". Well they kept the same syn oil in the car, and just changed the filter and topped of the oil. What happened after 15-20k miles? They added up all the topoff and filter changes and noticed they had ended up changing the oil 1.75x. (In overall volume).

Visit Bob's for science and information, not guesses and bone shaking.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php

either your math is off, their test was whack, or that engine was burning HORRENDOUS amounts of oil. 20K miles and 1 and 3/4 of an oil change?

even on a small engine thats 7 quarts or so (the small blocks are closer to 10.5 quarts over 1.75 oilchanges) so are you telling me they changed the oil at less than 3000miles? well that defeats the whole purpose of running a syn oil.

and chysically changing the entire contents of the oil pan at once or doing it over 4-5 oil changes isn't the point. replenishing the addatives is. and 1 quarts worth is plenty to replenish for 4-5k miles.

besides you can go 20k-40k miles on your oil if you use a fine enough filter, removing small solid particles and replacing the 1 quart of oil the filter holds every 5k miles... Amsoil has been doing that test for years

 

[crossbow]

Yes if you use a bypass filtration system (standard oil filter won't do it), you can extend OCI's past 10k.

Every time you change the filter on a vehicle, you end up adding anywhere from 0.5 to 1.0 qts of oil. Do that 4 times in 20k, thats 4 qts.

General non existent oil consumption begins to increase over extended oci's as well...so its quite easy to see that with most vehicles (that are doing extended oci's up to 20k miles) can end up actually changing their entire volume of oil by the time they reach the end point.

With a bypass filtration system, 10k oci's are possible and feasible. I won't consider extending them too much further after that, because the additives are still almost depleted by that point, even with boutique oils.

Like I said...bobistheoilguy.com. Research the information yourself, don't go by what others tell you.

Education...its not just for kids anymore.

 

[goldstar]

According to the FSM for the 2.0L Protege, oil change without filter requires 3.5 US quarts while oil change with filter takes 3.7 US quarts. Therefore, the OEM filter holds .2 quart or 6.4 ounces and you would have to replace the filter 5 times to replace 1 quart of oil. If you used synthetic oil and changed the filter only every 5000 miles and then topped off, you would run 25,000 miles before you would have replaced the total oil volume with 1 new quart.

 

[mobomelter]

i didn't read the whole thread so bear with me, is it ok to change your own oil while you are still under warranty? or would mazda try to blame you if anything went wrong with the engine?

 

[funnylittlman]

Yes, just document it

 

[mobomelter]

how would i document it? again i apologize because this is the first car i've had that actually has a warranty.

 

[El Ropo]

Geez, I sure hope you're not using your nice 3 to deliver pizza!

Sorry, I couldn't resist lol.

 

[mobomelter]

oh i am delivering pizza in it. i can't afford insurnace on 2 cars.

 

[goldwing2000]

how would i document it? again i apologize because this is the first car i've had that actually has a warranty.

Keep your receipts and record the mileage at which the service is done. If you go to the owner's area of Mazda's web site, they actually have a place where you can log in all your service and maintenence. You can also put in your VIN and it will notify you of any recalls and stuff. It's pretty handy.

 

[Da 6]

I just call the service tech up when I change the oil and he makes notes in his comp. I still keep reciepts and to this day they still havn't asked me to produce them... I'm gonna try out that mobil 1 0W-20/redline mixture next change and get uoa for S&G's and to also keep for later refrence.